Terrell Shorty

Prof. Deb Moore

Writing 1320, 11237: Academic Writing & Research

18 Sept. 2012

Who is the Baby Daddy?

In Lee M. Silver's article, Jennifer and Rachel, he argues that cloning is good but somewhat bad. In the article Jennifer and Rachel, Jennifer is a wealthy, single thirty five year old who feels that its time for her to start a family of her own. The only thing about this is that Jennifer does not want a significant other. She considers getting fertilization from a sperm donor, but she does not want to have a child with someone she does not know. So Jennifer decides to take a vacation and visit a clinic in Cayman Islands that specializes with cloning.

Silver says that at the clinic in Cayman Island part of the procedure will cost $80,000, but since Jennifer is a very wealthy woman, she has no problem affording this procedure. One dozen unfertilized eggs were taken from her ovaries and made nucleus free. After all the work is done to Jennifer's egg they are placed back into her ovaries. Jennifer rests on the island three more days before she heads back home.

While back at home, she takes a pregnancy test which comes out positive, two weeks later she takes another test which came out positive as well, so she makes an appointment with her doctor. Her doctor knows that she is a single woman but did not ask any questions and she remains silent about the situation as well. Jennifer goes through a normal pregnancy just like any other woman would, and nine months later on March 15, 2050, Jennifer has a baby girl and names her Rachel. Jennifer had a normal birth just like any other child would.

Silver states, Rachel will grow up the same way as any other child would and when someone complements on how much she looks like her mother, Jennifer will just agree and leave it at that. Jennifer will always tell Rachel that she is a special child but would never go into detail because she does not want Rachel to know that she is her clone. Maybe one day when cloning because something normal to the world, Jennifer would tell Rachel with it being a big problem.

Silver brings up the point that Jennifer isn't Rachel's real mother. Rachel is actually Jennifer's sister seeing that she is actually her clone which means that are the same woman. Rachel's real parents would be Jennifer's parents. In the future when Rachel have children, her children would also be Jennifer's children. The fact that Rachel will be able to look at Jennifer and see how she will look in the future could have really bad effects on Rachel. By looking at photos of Jennifer Rachel will have a glimpse on what she would look like in the future since they are both the same person. If Jennifer was to one day decide to have kids with a partner, then that would make the children either Rachel's children also or Rachel's nieces or nephews.

Silver asks is there anything wrong with what Jennifer has done? Many may feel that cloning is wrong because it can take God out of the picture and also because it has less emotion than two people having a child together. The fact that Rachel is Jennifer's clone may make many think that Rachel will have the same outlook on life as Jennifer, but even though Rachel and Jennifer are clones, they are still two different people who have a mind set of their own. Rachel may grow up poor and not go to college or she may go to college and be just as wealthy as Jennifer is. The fact that Rachel and Jennifer are clones doesn't exactly make make the same person it would make them more like twin sister only Jennifer would be the oldest.

.Dr. Callahan argues that Rachel could be harmed at the fact that she is looking directly at who she is in the future or the medical problems that she could have in the future, he feels that this would be unfair for Rachel. Kurt Vonnegut argues that, cloning is wrong and he says that our which brains will we the cause of our down fall. On the other hand Tom Harkin was for cloning. Tom felt that cloning was okay and he welcomes it.

In conclusion, Silver and other theorists have many opinions about cloning and Silver feels that cloning is inevitable but yet its up to the one willing to be cloned.

Works cited

Silver, Lee M. “Jennifer and Rachel remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave new World” (19880 117-25. Disciplines: A Rhetoric for Academic Writers, 6^th Ed. Mary Lynch Kennedy and William J. Kennedy. Boston: Pearson,2009. 340-46. print